I walked over to the public library after breakfast, across the square, passing the gazebo where the last signs of Lumberjack Days were being cleared away. I’d made an appointment for the interview for later that afternoon.
I’d come here to visit my sister and try to convince her to reconsider what I thought was a rash move to this tiny town, to buy into a small diner. Instead I’d found her at a creative restaurant that seemed pretty busy, in an interesting town. And you’d found some terrific guys, I thought.
Yes, I was dating two men, at once. And I was looking forward to our next date. I had a couple ideas for our date, but was hoping things went well for the men at their meeting that day. I’d sent them a good luck text that morning, and both had responded immediately, thanking me.
When I found myself wondering when was too soon for heart emojis I knew it was time to put the phone away.
I learned that the fire department, ambulances, and local hospital got extra funding from the Grockton family, especially after Greg’s mother passed away from cancer when he was twelve years old. There was a foundation in her name that raised money and so those areas had cutting edge equipment and scholarships for people who served in the community. I learned about innovative pilot programs that universities ran through Grockton.
Equipment I’d only read about and never tried was mentioned in the local emergency department. I was hoping I could tour it, even if I didn’t get hired here. That got me thinking about salaries, housing, and what a future here would look like.Would a relationship with two guys really work long term? When I thought I’d only be here temporarily I didn’t worry too much about that. This interview was making me look at things differently. And I liked all of these prospects.
But first, I had to do well in the interview. I knew how competitive all these positions were.
***
“How did you get an interview there?” Sinead Ortiz, one of my professors from my EMT program asked, when I got her on the phone later that morning.
I told her about helping Raymond, and how I thought that was likely what led to the interview.
She whistled. “I toured that department last year. They seem to have endless money. That could be a good place for you, though I’m not sure anyone ever leaves there. It might be hard to get promoted.”
“I’m not sure that’s my goal. I kind of like the idea of teaching CPR, or first aid.”
“Yes, you’d be good at that. You worked well on teams. If you think you would want to stay there, that could be a great opportunity.” Her voice was warm with excitement.
“I had my heart set on Knoxville, maybe getting an advanced degree.”
“There are hybrid programs,” she said. “I could help you figure that out once you get some experience.”
I hadn’t even really thought fully about those plans, or even thought about serious relationships. But here I’d been here a few days and things I’d only let myself wish for seemed to be within my grasp.
***
“We were impressed with the way you helped Raymond,” Captain Renauldt said later in the interview. “I’ve seen several videos of it, and my cousin on the police force mentioned she’d met you helping at the Grockton factory last night, too.”
The smile stayed on my face, but my stomach tensed. Did I get this interview because of the guys?
“Yes, there was an accident with a truck. I was glad I could help the young man who was driving, but the local paramedics were there almost immediately.” I didn’t want to seem like I was taking credit.
“We’d like to see what you could do when you’re officially on the job. We’d like to offer you a probationary position. We have a paramedic who is out on maternity leave, who let us know she does not want to return. We were going to test out subs, but if you are interested, you can work with us for a few months to start, to review in three months for a permanent role.”
This was unheard of. No testing, no physical fireman test.
“Of course, we’d need to have the fireman physical fitness test.”
“Of course,” I said.
“But we see that you passed it at school recently, so that would be good enough.” The Fire Chief said from his seat at the interview table.
I blinked. This seemed too good to be true.
And then he named a salary.
Definitely too good to be true.
***
“When are you moving in?” Carolina was jumping up and down at the diner. Everyone around us was watching.
